On May 3, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she is appointing Representative Antonio Delgado to serve as Lieutenant Governor of New York. Representative Delgado currently represents New York’s 19th Congressional District, which includes the Hudson Valley and Catskills. Delgado is Afro-Latino, the first person of color to represent Upstate New York in Congress and a member of both the Black and Hispanic Congressional Caucuses.
“I am proud to appoint Antonio Delgado, an outstanding leader and public servant, as Lieutenant Governor of New York, and I look forward to working with him to usher in a new era of fairness, equity, and prosperity for communities across the State,” Governor Hochul said. “We share a belief in working together to get things done for New Yorkers, and Representative Delgado has an incredible record of doing just that in Congress. With Antonio Delgado by my side serving as Lieutenant Governor, we will both make history – and make a difference.”
“New Yorkers deserve a Lieutenant Governor who’s working day and night to make lives better for working people and their families,” Representative Delgado said. “Upstate, downstate, doesn’t matter. We all want the same things, security, family, and opportunity. The key is to listen to New Yorkers from all walks of life and then be their voice to get the job done.”
A native of Upstate New York, Representative Delgado grew up in Schenectady and lives in Rhinebeck with his wife, Lacey, and their twin eight-year-old sons, Maxwell and Coltrane. He attended Colgate University and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. Then, he received a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he met Lacey.
The announcement came just one day after the law was changed allowing former Lt. Gov Brian Benjamin to be removed from the ballot because he was indicted.
Delgado was elected to Congress in 2018, and re-elected in 2020. He was facing a tough re-election this year, for two reasons. First, he had a tough republican opponent in Dutchess County Executive Mark Molinaro, and second, New Yorkers are concerned about a variety of issues on the state and federal level, which could put incumbent democratic members of Congress, like Delgado in jeopardy.
